We’ve now entered a P.F. (Post Freakonomics) age, and talk of incentives is everywhere. Education is no exception - there’s rising interest in the idea of paying kids for upping their scores (more on this idea here). See the New Yorker’s pithy take on incentives and the afterlife here: Eternity lasts a very long time. Our resources, though “infinite,” are not unlimited....Focus groups have suggested that offering a mere year or two of heavenly bliss, coupled with the threat of a single hour spent bathing in hot pitch and being harassed by demons, would generate ninety-seven per cent of the current program’s salutary effect on mortal behavior. (Interestingly, eternity itself is now perceived as a disincentive by blessed souls with more than two years of college education.) This suggests that severely scaling back Our incentive plan—and its attendant costs—would not lead to a significant diminution in faithfulness, obedience, repentance, or other benefits accruing to Ourself.